‘You do talk seal talk,’ replied Seth as he dug his bare feet into the wet sand. ‘All girls do!’

‘Do you think she is injured?’ Selin ignored her brother’s moodiness and rolled up her trousers. ‘Perhaps we should take a closer look.’ And she wadded through the cold water towards the rock.

‘Be careful Selin,’ Seth began to take notice of what was going on. ‘You know that seals can give you a nasty bite, especially if they feel threatened.’

‘Hello girl,’ Selin spoke gently as she climbed on the rock and peered down at the seal. It didn’t dip below the surface as one would expect,
it just stared back through eyes almost hidden beneath long lashes.

‘She’s a Grey!’ Selin said excitedly. ‘She has a Roman
nose! And she doesn’t look hurt. I’m going to call her Grypus, seeing as it’s a part of her scientific name.’

‘If
she isn’t hurt, then what does she want?’ Seth turned around and looked across the deserted bay. ‘There must be something here.’ Then he ran across the sand towards a cave. 'And I think I know what it is,' he said to himself.

‘Wait for me,’ Selin slid down the rock and shivered as she entered the water.

‘That is what she wants!’ cried Seth as Selin caught up with him in the cave. ‘It’s a pup, just look at her white fur.’

‘She beautiful,’ cried Selin. ‘What do you think we should do?’

‘Leave her alone,’ replied Seth. ‘She
is obviously well fed, just look at the size of her!’

‘But what is she feeding on?’ Selin placed her hands on her hips.

‘Grypus feeds her milk, when the tide comes in,’ she gets thinner and the baby gets fatter. Phil the Fish told me all about it the other day.
He knows everything.’

The children tiptoed out of the cave and ran all the way back to Gusty Gully.

‘Let it be our secret,’ said Selin.

Seth nodded. ‘I
like secrets,’ he said. ‘And we can check on them again tomorrow.’